As the capital of Scotland, the city of Edinburgh is extremely busy, and there are hundreds of taxis available to take you where you need to go. You may see taxis pass you by on the street – and if you try to hail them down, some of them may completely ignore you. This isn’t because they’re being rude, it’s just because they don’t have a license to pick up passengers in this way.

Private Hire Taxis: These are the taxis that can’t pick you up from the street, you just need to phone to book beforehand. In many cases, they’ll be available to pick you up within minutes of calling, or you can book in advance for a pre-arranged time.

Hackney Carriages: These are usually in the form of the black cabs you’ll see throughout Edinburgh city centre. They aren’t all black, but they will have a yellow “for hire” light, showing that they have a license to pick you up if you hail them and they’re empty.

Both types of taxi work in the same way except for how they’re allowed to pick you up. If you can, phoning a private hire taxi in advance is the most cost effective option. Both types of Edinburgh taxi will charge according to the distance travelled, but hackney carriages generally have higher rates.

Edinburgh Waverley

This station is conveniently located in the centre of the city, on the main Princes Street, right between the Old Town and New Town. The taxi rank can be found next to platform 11 if you want to get a taxi right there.

Edinburgh Haymarket

This station is less than two miles west on the line from Waverley to Glasgow. It is popularly used by those coming from the west end and for those travelling to the Murrayfield rugby stadium. Just like Waverley, there are plenty of taxis waiting at this station for those who want to jump in a cab as fast as possible.

Due to the central location of both of Edinburgh’s main stations, it isn’t hard to find transport. Hiring a private hire taxi is generally the most comfortable way to go – simply book in advance to have the firm arrange pickup right from your door to the station at the most affordable rate.

The Old Town: This part of Edinburgh is full of history, spanning between Edinburgh Castle and the Scottish Parliament building. The buildings here have a distinct charm, closely packed together as Edinburgh grew out of its current boundaries and into the New Town.

The New Town: As Edinburgh grew through the 18th century, the need for more space lead to the New Town being built. Nobody can deny the brilliance of the Georgian architecture throughout the area, which is now home to many stylish places to go out.

Grassmarket: Perfect for independent shopping and places to eat and drink. It was once the location of public executions!

The West End: Home to many boutique shops and more places to eat and drink. Just a few minutes away from Princes Street.

Leith: Another historically important area of Edinburgh, visitors can take advantage of shopping and eating on the waterfront.

If you need a convenient way to make your way around the most important areas of Edinburgh then private hire taxis are perfect for touring the city in comfort.

The East Dunbartonshire Taxi Owners Association wants fares to be increased by 6.5 percent. This means that a three mile journey would cost £5.61 rather than the previous £5.25.

Fares are set by the local council, and have not been reviewed since 2007. Drivers say that fuel prices mean that profits are getting smaller, and local councillors have agreed to carry out a consultation before making a final decision.

Similar complaints are being heard by Edinburgh taxi drivers after it was announced that they would be expected to pay £1 to drop off passengers outside the airport for just 15 minutes. This charge would rise to £2 for a 30 minute drop off, increasing journey costs for local taxi drivers as well as locals who get family and friends to drive them to the airport.

All taxi ranks throughout the city are clearly marked. Some of the main taxi ranks include Waverley and Haymarket rail stations, the bus stations, and ranks outside shopping centres. If you see a cab pass, you can also hail it from wherever you happen to be.

The only taxis that are allowed to pick up passengers at Edinburgh taxi ranks or when hailed from the street are known as “hackney carriages”. These are generally black cabs, but you might also see other models of vehicle, all carrying the yellow “for hire” sign. Other taxis are, unfortunately, not licensed to pick up passengers in this way.

Because of the convenience of picking up black cabs, they aren’t the cheapest way to get home. Try finding a few local private taxi numbers and calling to book in advance. Often there’ll be a taxi there to pick you up just minutes after your call, and you’ll save a fortune on fees!

Back in 1990, regular testing of once every four months was introduced; today, operators are suggesting that the rules should be more lenient, particularly for newer vehicles.

The Licensing Committee of Calderdale Council was asked to introduce some a kind of system which would require vehicles that are less than six years old to just be tested annually while all others to be tested twice a year.

While yearly tests must still be done at the transport depot of the council, owners would like the other test to be done at any garage that is MoT-registered to help in cutting down costs.

Sarah Richardson, the licensing services manager of the council, said that the regular testing of both hackney carriages and private hire vehicles help in ensuring the welfare and the safety of the general public, especially those who use them as their modes of transportation.

Out of the 1,357 tests which were taken in the past year, only 421 or about 31 percent failed. Some of the reasons why some vehicles failed the test include having illegal tyres, light bulb faults, high exhaust emissions, worn ball joints and brakes and problems with the anti-roll bushes.

Richardson said that their testing policy takes into consideration the heavy demands which are put on vehicles that are brought about by their daily usage. She said that through having the tests more often wear and tear and any potential failure of the components of the vehicle can be checked.

Aside from this, the licensing committee has also been requested to approve of an increase in the vehicle licensing fees, something that the Calderdale Private Hire Association has strongly opposed.

The Calderdale Private Hire Association wants the council to perform an extensive review of the licensing charges to make sure that they would be able to cover administration costs without being too much that the council would be making additional money at the expense of taxi cab operators.

39-year-old Jared Kelly, a screenwriter, said that he has been a whirlwind of unfortunate events after he regained consciousness. He was handcuffed by the authorities and then charged for assaulting the cab driver.

Kelly claimed that the driver was the one who should be charged, as he strangled him using his own scarf after he got into an altercation with the driver for being knocked off of his bike. He said that the taxi cab driver swerved in front of him, causing him to fall off his bike.

Although the incident was recorded on the CCTV cameras of the Westminster Council, apparently, the footage was subsequently deleted.

Kelly is now in search for individuals or any passersby in the area on the day of the incident who can serve as witnesses to the driver’s assault on him.

He is hoping that his name would be cleared, after having to deal with a hefty legal bill and a tremendous amount of distress.

He has left his employment and was supposed to leave the country for a research trip that has also been put on hold indefinitely because of the incident. His solicitor has warned him that legal costs may reach up to £5,000, that is, if he is found to be not guilty.

Ali Hassan, a private hire taxi driver from Bertrand Road in Bolton explained to the Bolton Crown Court that the teenage girl confessed to him that she “liked black men” before she pushed him up against the door of the car and started kissing him.

Hassan denied that he was the one who initiated and that he did not touch and kiss the girl in the back of his cab.

Hassan’s DNA was found on a swab that was taken from the girl’s neck. He later said to the court that he just kissed the girl’s neck to comfort her.

Michael Maher, the defending attorney, led Hassan through the series of events on the night or the morning the girl got into his cab at Nelson Square.

Hassan recounted to the court that he was off duty that night and was just waiting for a friend. At around 245 am, the teenage girl “begged” him to bring her home.

He told the court that the girl said “I like black people”. He said that when the girl said that, he said, “Can you sit back and put your seat belt on please?”

After he said this to girl, Hassan said that she reacted unpleasantly and said “you are all the same, you are all dogs”.

He then told the jury that the girl started crying and said that he was just trying to comfort her. He also said that he did not want to hurt her and that he felt that it was all his fault.

He claimed that she then pushed him and kissed him on his stomach.

Aside from denying the allegation of assaulting this 18-year-old girl, he also denied an attempted sexual assault to another 18-year-old female that was also his passenger before.

Hailing from Somalia, Hassan has worked in Holland as a truck driver before he moved to the UK and started his taxi driving career in October of 2007. He is currently married to a woman that he has four young children with.

18-year-old Aaron Todd suffered from fatal head injuries when taxi driver Paul Stephenson accelerated away from the curb on the 29th of March in 2009.

Todd was an apprentice joiner and a popular and talented football player. He was the last among five “boisterous” friends to get out of the black Fiat Scudo right after Stephenson stopped on Hedworth Lane in Jarrow, South Tyneside. He was still on board when Stephenson sped away, causing him to sustain fatal head injuries upon leaping out of the vehicle.

Todd was brought to a hospital but died after six days.

The friends of Todd believe that the driver was trying to avoid paying an £8.40 fare by “doing a runner”.

Stephenson was then convicted of death because of careless driving. He said that he only performed a brief check to see if the Todd and his friend had already gotten out. However, he failed to notice that three of them were actually still on board before driving off.

The jury was reportedly instructed to exonerate him of death by dangerous driving.

Justice Davis of Teesside Crown Court just sentenced him to nine months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He would also have to perform 150 hours’ unpaid work.

The judge also disqualified Stephenson from driving for a period of 18 months, which effectively ends his cab driving career. He said that the whole sentencing exercise was “very difficult”.

Based on reports, Stephenson of South Shields, generally had good character and did not intend to harm anyone. He had also suffered from two serious attacks in the past while working. However, he may have failed to take care of his clients properly, the judge said, and could have acted in both anger and fear.

The judge further added that it was just unfortunate that Todd jumped out of the vehicle as it started to move. He said that it is something that many drunken young individuals do recklessly and that experienced cab drivers should have known and should be prepared to do everything to guard themselves against it.

The judge also stressed that the friends of Todd had no aggressive intent and were just being rowdy youngsters and nothing more.

Justice Davis expressed his concern that the defendant seems to lack remorse, giving the impression that he was not very clear on why he was being prosecuted.

As the sentence was read, Karen Ruther, Todd’s mother wept. She declined to comment afterwards.

Todd had two brothers and a step-brother who were all, along with their other relatives, having a hard time dealing with his death.

A 53-year-old cab driver from Halewood was then arrested for being suspected of causing the death of the cyclist due to his careless driving. He was later released after being questioned and paying bail.

As part of their ongoing investigation, the officers of the Merseyside Police Station are calling to possible witnesses who were aboard three of the buses which stopped at the scene.

When the cyclist’s friends and relatives offered flowers and Everton memorabilia at the scene to pay tribute to the cyclist, the police appealed once again for the witnesses to help.

At the roadside near the junction of Lincombe Road, a cushion and a blues shirt that had moving messages for the victim can be seen. One of them had a tribute which read: “David, You’ll be sadly missed but never forgotten,” while another read: “Can’t believe you’re gone.”

Reportedly, after the collision, some of the passersby tried to resuscitate the cyclist by giving him CPR. Unfortunately, this was not very helpful as he was later pronounced dead on the scene by the responding paramedics.

The police said that anyone who can give additional information about the incident can contact the Merseyside Police Roads Policing Unit.